I came across this short video over at LeadingLDS.com that attributes a lack of desire for change to exhaustion rather than laziness in some cases. The guy makes a fairly reasonable argument, but I’m not quite sure that laziness and exhaustion are really that different. Perhaps if we address what is similar about the two and figure out how to overcome the root problem, we will find solutions that work for us.
Laziness and Exhaustion vs. Vision and Remembrance
Although this second video is titled “How to Overcome Laziness in 4 Steps”, I am curious if the same principles apply to exhaustion. I don’t know that I am convinced that laziness is really that different from exhaustion, the point is that you are just simply not motivated. Feeling a lack of motivation isn’t necessarily a bad thing, we are mortal beings, we get tired and are prone to habitual behavior.
Still, we are told to put off the natural man and this is one of the key purposes of this life but how do we do this? I found the simple advice in the video below to be insightful and right in line with what we could find in scripture, especially the part about vision.
We read in Proverbs 29:18: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” so maybe vision is the key and remembering that vision in times of weakness is the lock that together with the key, opens the door to self-mastery.
2 Comments
It is very important to talk about desires. Neal A Maxwell did that so well. You touched on that matter in your article about will.
Heart is the symbol of our desires. They precede faith, conversion but also anger or intolerance. We can’t force or instil desires into someone’s heart because it’s so closely related to free agency. To me those two words blend into the same concept.
I believe than often we think we have the desire but what really happens is that we wish we had the desire or we desire the consequences but not the hard work required.
So how do we teach desire ? We can’t. But preaching by the Spirit is a good way to plant a seed. Serving should awake desires within us too Getting on our knees and actually listening to our Father in Heaven…
You had me at Neal A Maxwell ;)
I think you’re spot on in your views about desire. I’m currently serving as an Elders Quorum President and the subject of desire as it relates to home teaching is always critical.
I’ve been there myself, wishing for desire and wanting consequences and willing to do the work, but not really knowing what to do and how to get that fire inside started when it comes to certain things.
I think you are right about preaching and serving. I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently and was talking to a good friend about it last night outside of Walgreens.
We spoke about how powerful the Spirit is and shared stories about time when simply by testifying we’ve seen the Spirit fill a room or a certain space and make it holy and how one time I saw a person enter that space, not knowing what was happening and not hearing a word, pause, take a seat and begin weeping.
If we carried this with us and brought experiences into peoples lives by the power of our influence, then how can the Spirit not touch live and fill them with desire.
Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon says this:
“Faith and spiritual desire leads one to yearn to commune with God. Sincere prayer yields further desire to know God and to live a life that is pleasing to him. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ gives life and power to personal desire and moves one to action. Prayer is vocalized faith, and when accompanied by the Spirit it fills the soul with increased love for God and desire to serve him and keep his commandments.” – Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon Vol. 4, p. 135
So, interesting perspective there too. I like the part about prayer being “vocalized faith” and how faith in the Lord “gives life and power to personal desire”.
Perhaps the Savior has already shown us how this is done in 3 Nephi 19:24:
“And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus prayed unto the Father, he came unto his disciples, and behold, they did still continue, without ceasing, to pray unto him; and they did not multiply many words, for it was given unto them what they should pray, and they were filled with desire.”